Early look at the GCL
After spending the last few days previewing Dayton Divisions as a whole, now I will shift my focus to early conference previews. The goal here is to show you right now who the Top 5 teams are in the conference and the Top 5 players. First I will start with the GCL Coed.
- Alter– This is difficult because the Knights lost 6 of their top 8 players from a year ago. However, they performed extremely well in summer league and ended the summer session as one of the hottest teams.
- Carroll– You almost have to do a coin flip between 2,3, and 4 but I give the nod to the Patriots at #2 because they return a strong core from a team that made it to the District Finals a year ago. They have plenty of backcourt guys, all they need now are a few post weapons and they will have a real shot at winning the league.
- Fenwick– Like I said, if Carroll hadn’t made a tournament run a year ago, Fenwick would have gotten my #2 spot. Either way, the Falcons still have a good team going into August. They bring back a strong nucleus of players that were 1st or 2nd team all-GCL a year ago.
- Chaminade-Julienne– The Eagles return 4 of their core 8 guys from a year ago, but those 4 scored an average 13.7 points per game COMBINED. Guys will have to step up and fill in the gaps left from graduation, but coach Joe Staley is not afraid of a challenge and will still have a competitive team.
Top 5 Guys (no specific order)
Eli Ramsey (Carroll)- Inside-out guard that is a defensive nightmare.
C.J. Napier (Fenwick)- Offensive and defensive star specializes in rebounding.
Connor Bazelak (Alter)- Big sharpshooter who uses his football background to attack defenses.
Milton Gage (Chaminade-Julienne)- Quick guard who attacks the rim like a post player.
David Luers (Fenwick)- Sharpshooting guard who may be best shooter in the conference.